Bruins hope to make the most of a little down time

Thursday

After playing nine times in 17 days to open the playoffs, the Bruins were thankful to get an extra day off before the Eastern Conference finals started, and another just after it opened.

BOSTON -- They rarely have any control over it, usually don’t love it, and never have any choice but to play it as it’s laid out.

This is one time when Bruins don’t have a big problem with their schedule, though.

The team, who opened their best-of-7 Eastern Conference finals matchup against the Hurricanes on Thursday night at TD Garden, played for the 14th time since the playoffs began on April 11. They started with nine games in 17 days, got a two-day break before playing four more times between April 30 and May 6, then had two days to prepare for Game 1 of the conference finals.

Now, they get two days to get ready for Game 2, scheduled for 3 p.m. Sunday.

“I think the day off on Friday will be good for us,” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. “We had a tough 7-game (first-round series against the Maple Leafs), then a tough 6-game (Round 2, vs the Blue Jackets).

“It’s nice to get right back in the swing of things. You hope that’s an edge for us (the Hurricanes hadn’t played since last Friday), but we also could use some rest somewhere. Last round, we got it after Game 2, and we needed that extra day.”

Two days between Games 1 and 2 gave Cassidy the option of feeding some players extra ice time in the opener, if necessary. It was almost a given that the four defensemen at the top of Thursday’s depth chart -- Zdeno Chara, Torey Krug, Brandon Carlo and Matt Grzelcyk -- would see more time than usual in Game 1, for which blue-line ice time leader Charlie McAvoy (24:46 per game) was suspended by the NHL for an illegal check to the head thrown in Monday’s series finale against the Blue Jackets.

“Yeah, you can (use some players more than usual), especially on the back end, because you’ve got an extra day,” Cassidy said. “Up front, if you want, you can shorten your bench when you have an extra day in between.”

Players, for the most part, were thankful they didn’t have to wait too long to start the conference finals, and welcomed an extra day off near the start of the series.

“We’ve been playing lots of hockey for the last three or four weeks,” said center David Krejci.

“Personally, I like to play games rather than practice. I don’t mind that (Game 2) is Sunday, but after that, every other day doesn’t really matter for me.”

Knew it all the time: Joakim Nordstrom, a Hurricane for three seasons before signing a two-year contract with the Bruins last July 1, wasn’t entirely surprised by the ’Canes’ success under Rod Brind’Amour, their first-year head coach. Brind’Amour, who concluded his 21-year NHL playing career with the Hurricanes (he captained their 2006 Stanley Cup championship team), spent seven years as an assistant coach before he was named head coach one year ago Tuesday.

“(Brind’Amour) was mostly in charge of the power play when I was there,” said Nordstrom, a checking winger and penalty-killer throughout his six-year NHL career, “and obviously, I wasn’t on the power play.

“But we had a good relationship. He was always on the ice before and after practice, as kind of a skills development coach. He just really enjoys being around hockey and seeing guys develop.”

Brind’Amour liked to run the show when he had a chance, too.

“(Brind’Amour) coached a game or two in preseason as the head coach," Nordstrom said, “and I thought he was really good. He has the respect of all the players, obviously, but he’s also very knowledgeable. I thought he was doing a good job.”

Around the boards: McAvoy’s spot in the lineup was taken by Steven Kampfer, who hadn’t played since making his first career playoff appearance in Game 3 of Round 1 against the Leafs on April 15. … Winger Noel Acciari missed his third straight game with an upper body injury, but Cassidy said Acciari skated on Thursday morning and “is feeling better … Sunday afternoon would be the next target date for him.” … Barring injury, B’s winger Brad Marchand will make his 100th postseason appearance during this series. He hit 98 on Thursday night. … David Krejci (97) and Patrice Bergeron (94) entered the series within reach of 100 career playoff points. Rick Middleton and John Bucyk, whose numbers are both retired, both finished with 100 playoff points, which is tied for third on the Bruins’ all-time list.

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